Otis Nixon steals second in 8th as Edgardo Alfonzo watches ball get away in Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS. / Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

by Ted Berg, USA TODAY Sports

In his playing days, outfielder Otis Nixon was best known for swiping bases and, occasionally, robbing home runs from opponents. Now, according to a report from FOX 5 Atlanta, Nixon has moved on to stealing people's money.

Nixon's website says that the 17-year major league journeyman is now "Christ-Centered" and free from the drug and alcohol addictions that plagued him in his playing days, and offers re-entry housing and support services to paroled felons. But according to the FOX report, Nixon's home is no longer an officially approved halfway house despite his claims to know Georgia governor Nathan Deal personally and boasts of best friendship with parole-board member General James Donald.

Nixon appears to be offering a reserved bed in his halfway house and help negotiating the parole board in exchange for between $750 and $1000 in cash, in situations where parole is not even an option.

According to baseball-reference.com, Nixon made an estimated $19.9 million across his playing career. It's hard to see the circumstance, if true, as anything but sad for all involved. It's mostly sad for the family members of those imprisoned, giving hard-earned cash to Nixon in the hopes of seeing their loved ones moving forward with their lives a bit sooner than they thought. But it's sad for Nixon, too, that he should be reduced to scamming people out of a few hundred bucks at a time after a lucrative career and a purported religious awakening.